Ron Dewar (July 22, 1941 - January 4, 2024) was an American jazz

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

player who grew up in Plainfield, Illinois and worked in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area. His father, Robert Dewar, worked in a bowling alley. His mother, Ruth Jahneke Dewar taught music. His younger brothers Roger and Randy grew up to perform and teach music. Dewar was a featured soloist on many recordings, from traditional jazz to contemporary to popular to free improvisation to Brazilian and led hot bands The Memphis Nighthawks and Jack Webb. A website dedicated to the music of Ron Dewar containing a large library of music files and additional materials has been created. https://rondewarjazz.com/

Career

Dewar started playing saxophone when he was 15. After hearing

Joe Farrell Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name o ...

at a Joliet club, Dewar decided to attend college where Farrell studied. Dewar began studying at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

and joined the Jazz Band led by John Garvey from 1959 to 1962. Dewar rejoined the band from 1968 to 1972. Dewar played in the band again as adjunct faculty from 1980 to 1981. In March 1968 he was awarded "top tenor saxophone" at the Collegiate Jazz Festival at Notre Dame with judges

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signi ...

, Ray Brown, Robert Share,

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

, and

Dan Morgenstern Dan Michael Morgenstern (October 24, 1929 – September 7, 2024) was an American jazz historian and archivist. Born to a Jewish family in Germany, Morgenstern fled Nazi-occupied Austria with his mother and in 1947 emigrated to the United States ...

. Freddy Hubbard and

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

were scheduled to adjudicate but both had to cancel.

Willis Conover Willis Clark Conover, Jr. (December 18, 1920 – May 17, 1996) was a jazz producer and broadcaster on the Voice of America for over forty years. He produced jazz concerts at the White House, the Newport Jazz Festival, and for movies and televisi ...

was MC. Saxophonist

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in ...

from Indiana University won "outstanding musician." He was a featured soloist of the University of Illinois Jazz Band in 1968 during a two month State Department sponsored tour to Ireland, Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Czechoslovakia. The band consisted of Don Smith (vocals/flute); Ken Ferrantino, Jim Darling, Jerry Tessin (trumpet);

Cecil Bridgewater Cecil Bridgewater (born October 10, 1942) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography Bridgewater was born in Urbana, Illinois and studied at the University of Illinois. He and brother Ron formed the Bridgewater Brothers Band in 1969, ...

Jim Knapp James Donald Knapp, Jr. (July 28, 1939 - November 13, 2021) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator. He taught at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle for 45 years. Biography Jim Knapp was born on July 28, 1939, in Chicago, I ...

(trumpet/flugelhorn); Dave Sporny, Larry Dwyer, Frank Harmantas (trombone); Rich Rousch (bass trombone/baritone horn); John Prendergast (tuba);

Howie Smith Howie Smith (born February 25, 1943), is a saxophonist, composer, jazz musician and educator Howie Smith was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1943. He was an instructor for the University of Illinois Division of Music Extension from 1970 to ...

, John Wonsowicz, Ron Dewar, Larry Cangelosi, Bill Feldman (saxophone); Ron Elliston (piano); Fred Atwood (bass); Chuck Braugham (drums); Bill Fries (percussion). On March 14 1969, Dewar performed at the Collegiate Jazz Festival in the University of Illinois Jazz Band and his own quartet with Jim Knapp, John Monaghan, and Chuck Braugham. He was awarded a special plaque for his saxophone playing. The judges were

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direct ...

, Dan Morgenstern,

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

Gary McFarland Gary Ronald McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 2, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, vibraphonist, and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve Records, Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. ''DownBeat, Dow ...

, and

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

. In June 1969, the University of Illinois Jazz Band performed at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Recordings were made of the band backing Sarah Vaughn and Gerry Mulligan. Dewar can be heard briefly on a solo with Sarah Vaughn on "There Will Never Be Another You." From November 11 to December 23, 1969, the University of Illinois Jazz Band toured USSR. Ron Dewar wrote a fanfare for two saxophones based on Uzbek themes. On July 31, 1971, the University of Illinois Jazz Band performed at Town Hall in New York City with Gary Burton on vibraphone. Dewar was featured soloist on several pieces. In the 1970s, while playing with The Chicago Hot Six with Ed "Doc" Kittrell (trumpet) and Roy Rubinstein (trombone), Ron developed a passion for the music of New Orleans. He studied the New Orleans clarinetists Omer Simeon,

Johnny Dodds Johnny Dodds (; April 12, 1892 – August 8, 1940) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist based in New Orleans, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, ...

Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creoles of color, Cr ...

and Sydney Bechet and incorporated their styles in his playing, sometimes even playing an older style

Albert system The Albert system refers to a system of clarinet keywork and fingering developed by Eugène Albert. In the United Kingdom, it is known as the simple system. It has been largely replaced by the Boehm system and Oehler system. Big Band musician ...

clarinet. He delved deeply in the recordings of

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz ...

and the early

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wro ...

sides with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

on second cornet. He arranged many of these tunes for the Memphis Nighthawks and inspired many other players to pursue this music. In the eighties, Dewar and drummer Phil Gratteau, joined Brazilian artists Breno and Neusa Sauer and Paulinho Garcia in a Chicago group called Made in Brazil. In 1984 they recorded "Tudo Joia" for

Pausa Records Pausa Records was a record label, active c. 1975–1986, which mainly issued jazz albums. The company's name came from the fact that it was from the United States division of the Italian record company Produttori Associati (PA-USA.) In Italy, Prod ...

, a blend of contemporary bossa and samba with a jazz flavor. Ron performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 1986. Dewar appeared at the first Chicago Jazz Festival and frequently in the years that followed.

References

External links

Salvatore Martriano "O, O, O, O That Shakespeherian Rag"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewar, Ron 1941 births 2024 deaths American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Musicians from Joliet, Illinois